St. Andrews Auxiliary Unit Patrol

Thank you for selecting information on
the St.Andrews Auxiliary Unit Patrol and their Operational Base in Scotland. Most of the info below
have been supplied by CART's Fife & Angus CIO, David Blair.

Most Auxiliary bunkers are found primarily along the
South Coast of England, and there are plenty of surviving examples in good condition, mainly perhaps due to the
fact they remain hidden as intended. There are also a long line of auxiliary defences right up the East Coast of
England, then stop before the border. From there the next examples are around the East Neuk of Fife, presumably
protecting the strategically important Forth and Tay.

This OB was one of the first to be constructed in Fife by the Operational Patrol
formed from local men in the St Andrews area:

The OB is now in a fragile condition, having been visited by a CART member in
October 2010. CART has asked to meet the estate owners and discuss with them and Fife Archaeology service
the possibility’ with funding, for restoring the OB; as it was in a remarkable state of preservation until recent
extreme weather conditions seen its escape/bolt hole collapse and further deterioration to the main hidden
entrance, with water now entering the main living chamber.

The first attempt to construct this OB failed as it collapsed while under
construction due to unstable sandy conditions. From the new OB, situated about 50mtrs from the first site;
the patrol was tasked with hitting targets on/ near to the Air Base at Leuchars. Having gained entry to the base on
several exercise scenarios they planted dummy bombs on parked aircraft and in hangers. If the invasion happened,
the Germans would have used the base as a Forward Mounting Base (FMB) which would have provided an ideal target for
the other 2 patrols in this part of Fife (3 in total) other opportunist targets were rail and road transport with
the Tay Rail Bridge and estuary a few miles north. Fife had a road network with many small link roads which lead to
major roads, ideal supply convoy routes and ambush sites. Close to the OB, some 100mtrs was a supply of explosives
which were kept in check by Royal Engineers who were based at Cupar, this cache and what was left of the
underground ammunition/explosives chamber was removed in 1945. The contents destroyed in a nearby
field.

There was very little inside save for a few unused Blairadam bricks used to build the post, some clay
pigeons an old tin pan and bucket. The metal shelter was rusting a fair bit which probably caused the collapse at
either end. It's next to a gully and the area is probably pretty damp most of the year.

The only reason it is semi-easy to find from the nearby path is a wooden frame around
the hatch, presumably put up as a safety measure by the adjacent Duke's Course.

Our thanks CART member David Blair for the main bulk of this information and to Foz101 and his website
www.visitingthepast.com for some info and the images.